And based on historical records, Crouch says it’s likely 2012 will end up as the warmest on record for the contiguous United States. “That’s based only on historical data and doesn’t take into account the forecast,” Crouch told LiveScience, referring to historical data for November and December temperatures. “If we look at the forecast that the Climate Prediction Center is [giving] it’s much more likely” that we’ll see a record-warm year.